1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air conditioner adapted to shorten an on-time of a compressor by establishing a higher power saving set-up temperature than a user set-up temperature during a normal operation to thereby perform a power saving operation, and more particularly to a power saving operational control method of an air conditioner adapted to control directions of air discharged during the power saving operation, thereby increasing a power saving effect of the air conditioner.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an air conditioner is divided into various kinds according to its construction and function. The air conditioner can be divided into exclusive cooling, exclusive cooling and dehumidifying, and cooling and heating dual operations in view of function. The air conditioner can be also divided structurally into an integrated type installed at a window sill for integrating the cooling an heat-radiating functions and a separation type having a cooling apparatus indoors while installing a heat-radiating and compressing apparatus outdoors.
The separation type of air conditioner includes a multi-type which has one outdoor unit connected to more than two indoor units for air conditioning a plurality of indoor spaces.
FIG. 1 illustrates an indoor unit of a separation typed air conditioner for dual function of cooling and heating operations. As shown in FIG. 1, the air condition includes an indoor unit 1, a suction inlet 3, and an outlet 5. The outlet 5 further includes a remote controlled signal receiver 7 for receiving a remote-controlled signal transmitted from a remote controller 9 (hereinafter referred to a remocon) and vertical vanes 11 for vertically controlling directions of air and horizontal vanes 13 for horizontally controlling directions of the air. Meanwhile, the remocon 9 is mounted with a plurality of operation mode keys for inputting operation/stop of the air conditioner, operation selection (automatic, cooling dehumidifying, blowing, heating, power-saving and the like), air amount selection (high wind, intermediate wind, low wind and the like), turbo, mild, temperature adjustment and the like, and a plurality of timer mode keys for inputting present time, handy reservation, start/completion and the like.
FIG. 2 is a side sectional view for illustrating an indoor unit installed on a wall surface, where like reference numerals are used for designation of like or equivalent parts or portions and redundant references will be omitted.
As shown in FIG. 2, the indoor unit 1 is provided therein with an indoor heat exchanger 15 disposed at the rear of the suction inlet 3 for heat-exchanging room air sucked through the suction inlet 3 into cooling air or heating air, an indoor fan 17 disposed at the rear of the indoor heat exchanger 15 for discharging indoors the air heat-exchanged by the indoor heat exchanger 15, and a duct member 19 for guiding the flow of air sucked through the suction inlet 3 and discharged to the outlet 5. Unexplained reference numeral 21 is an evaporative water dish.
In an inverter type air conditioner used for dual purpose of cooling and heating operations thus structured, refrigerant flows through a refrigerant cycle during a heating operation which is formed by, as illustrated in FIG. 3 is dotted arrow, a compressor 30.fwdarw.four-way valve.fwdarw.31.fwdarw.indoor heat exchanger 15.fwdarw.capillary tube 50.fwdarw.outdoor heat exchanger 40.fwdarw.four-way valve 31.fwdarw.compressor 30, while the four-way valve 31 is turned on.
Meanwhile, during a cooling operation, the four-way valve 31 is rendered inactive and the refrigerant flows through a refrigerant cycle which is formed by, as illustrated in FIG. 3 is solid arrow, the compressor 30.fwdarw.four-way valve 31.fwdarw.outdoor heat exchanger 40.fwdarw.capillary tube 50.fwdarw.indoor heat exchanger 15.fwdarw.four-way valve 31.fwdarw.compressor 30.
In the air conditioner for executing the dual purpose of heating and cooling operations by forming the refrigerant cycle thus described, when a user manipulates the remocon 9 and presses an operation/stop key (hereinafter called as operation key) to input a desired operation mode (by way of example, cooling), a set-up temperature Ts and a set-up air amount, a remote control signal corresponding the key input is coded by a predetermined protocol, where the coded signal is modulated to be transmitted in an ultrared signal.
When the ultrared signal is transmitted from the remocon 9, the signal is received by the remocon signal receiver 7 to thereafter be converted to an electric signal. The converted electric signal is demodulated to start the operation of the indoor unit 1. At this moment, the indoor fan 17 is rotated according to set-up air amount and room air is sucked into the indoor unit 1 through the suction inlet 3.
Successively, when the temperature of room air sucked through the suction inlet 3 is detected by a temperature sensor (not shown) in the indoor unit 1, the indoor unit 1 compares room temperature Tr with the set-up temperature Ts transmitted from the remocon 9, and if the room temperature Tr is higher than the set-up temperature Ts, the compressor 30 is turned on, as illustrated in FIG. 4.
When the compressor 30 is rendered active, a refrigerant loop is formed in a slid arrow as illustrated in FIG. 3. In other words, when gaseous refrigerant of high pressure and high temperature discharged from the compressor 30 at the outdoor unit is infused into the outdoor heat exchanger 40 via the four-way valve 31, the outdoor heat exchanger 40 heat-exchanges the gaseous refrigerant compressed in high temperature and high pressure to air blown by an outdoor fan 41, forcibly cool and condense same, where liquefied refrigerant of low pressure and low temperature condensed by the outdoor heat exchanger 40 is infused into the capillary tube 50.
The liquefied refrigerant of low pressure and low temperature infused into the capillary tube 50 is expanded to frostless refrigerant of evaporable low pressure and low temperature and infused into the indoor heat exchanger 15 at the indoor unit 1.
The indoor heat exchanger 15 takes away heat from the air blown by the indoor fan 17 to thereby cool the room air when the frostless refrigerant of low pressure and low temperature reduced in pressure by the capillary tube 50 passes via a plurality of pipes to be evaporated and to be gasified.
The cool air heat-exchanged by the indoor heat exchanger 15 is adjusted horizontally and vertically in directions thereof by angles of the vertical vanes 11 and horizontal vanes 13 to perform the cooling operation, whereby, the gaseous refrigerant of low pressure and low temperature cooled by the indoor heat exchanger 15 is again infused into the compressor 30 via the four-way valve 31 and is changed to refrigerant gas of high pressure and high temperature by adiabatic compressing action of the compressor 30 to thereafter repeat the refrigerant cycle thus described.
When the cooling operation thus described is executed for a predetermined time, room temperature is gradually lowered and the room temperature Tr being changed is measured, where, the compressor 30 is turned off when the room temperature Tr reaches the set-up temperature Ts, as illustrated in FIG. 4.
When the compressor 30 is rendered inactive and the room temperature Tr is gradually increased to reach the set-up temperature plus (+) 1, the compressor 30 is again turned on, as illustrated in FIG. 4, to repeat an operation of decreasing the room temperature Tr to the set-up temperature Tr and a normal operation of maintaining the room temperature Tr at the set-up temperature Ts, as illustrated in a normal operation region of FIG. 4.
When the user selects a power-saving operation when the normal operation thus described is under way, a power-saving, set-up temperature Tm is established higher than the set-up temperature Ts of normal operation and the compressor 30 is made to turn on as illustrated in FIG. 4 when the room temperature Tr is higher than the set-up temperature Tm of power-saving operation.
The room temperature Tr is gradually decreased according to activation of the compressor 30 and when the room temperature Tr reaches the power-saving set-up temperature Tm, the compressor 30 is made to turn off, as illustrated in FIG. 4.
Successively, when the room temperature Tris gradually increased according to deactivation of the compressor 30 to approach the power-saving set-up temperature Tm plus (+) 1, the 8 compressor 30 is again rendered active to repeat a decreasing process of the room temperature Tr to the power-saving set-up temperature Tm, whereby, as illustrated in power-saving operation region in FIG. 4, the room temperature Tr is maintained at the power-waving set-up temperature Tm to perform a power-saving operation of shortening an activated time of the compressor 30.
However, there is a problem in the conventional power-saving operation method thus descried in that it is difficult to embody a pleasant operation because a user does not feel a pleasant temperature as the user is positioned distanced from the indoor unit 1, and Predicted Percentage of Dissatisfied (PPD) index which expresses as constant a pleasantness felt by the user is increased to make the user feel quite unpleasant, as illustrated in FIG. 10, because power-saving effect differs according to the size of room space, although there is an advantage of power-saving operation around the ambient area of the indoor unit 1, where, zone of the set-up temperature Ts established by the user is not considered to calculate the power-saving set-up temperature Tm at a constant level and vertical/horizontal vanes 11 and 13 are fixed to execute the power-saving operation.